Business and Technology Excellence with Jennifer Fong

Bad Social Media is Bigger Than Just You

Sometimes I get asked why I make such a big deal out of big mistakes by direct sellers in social media. Why do I share them on my blog? Isn’t that a little bit mean?

Here’s the reason: I can talk to you about the do’s and don’t’s till the cows come home, but if I don’t show you real life examples, some people still won’t get it. And honestly, it’s not just about 1 person doing something inappropriate. For every 1 post I flag, there are 1,000 or more that hit the general public daily. And all of these bad posts collectively make us as an industry look bad.

It’s one of the reasons I started this blog. There are PLENTY of people out there who run in the other direction when they see direct sellers coming. Why? Because we have lost all sense of appropriateness in our onslaught of “join my team” and “buy my stuff” posts.

I will NEVER identify an individual when I use a poor example as an object lesson. The point is not to embarrass anyone. But I WILL take teaching opportunities when they present themselves, because I love this industry too much to let this bad behavior slide. It’s not just about one person. It reflects on all of us as an industry. And I for one intend to help our industry get this right. So doors open for us. And you can ALL make more money with your businesses.

This blog is free advice for everyone in the industry. And I sincerely hope the words I write here make a difference. That’s what it’s all about.

Thank you so much for this and all your posts. I really like seeing the “bad” examples because it gives us a real-life example of what you are teaching us not to do with social media. The whole social-media platform is so new that I really appreciate this blog and all you do to help us learn the best way to use this medium to support our direct sales business.

Jennifer, I want you to know that I appreciate your time and effort that goes in to each and every one of these posts. It’s important to be constantly educating ourselves no matter what profession we are in. But as Direct Sellers we definitely need to band together, support one another and learn from the good and the bad examples out there. I know that I think twice before I type something that will become a part of Internet history forever.

Honestly, sometimes your posts that call out someone for these types of mistakes make me very uncomfortable. Part of it is because I empathize with the person who made the mistake (even though they’re never identified I imagine their embarrassment), and part of it’s just my non-confrontational personality.

But I do think it’s important to point them out because most of the time I’m sure the person just doesn’t know better. If no one ever tells you it’s not a successful way to approach things, how will you ever know?

Oh your words make a huge difference! Before taking your course, I had no idea of the various mistakes I was making. Not purposely a “bad” social media user, just not clued in, mimicking what I had seen other people do with sales, product updates, etc. on personal pages.

A novice user would have no way of knowing that it’s not beneficial (and can even be damaging!) to interact with your online connections in such a manner. And I think the point about not posting ANYthing negative on your company’s facebook page is critical and one that can’t be repeated too often.

Thanks for keeping us “schooled” in the rights and wrongs of social media!